RETURN TO SPORT / PLAY

It is truly an unprecedented time that we are living in. We have seen businesses shuttered due to pandemic restrictions, we have seen the cancellation of almost all of our typical group activities, and we have lost what would have been a CFL season of celebration for our hometown Blue Bombers. It seems that even the things that haven’t been lost are still up in the air as situations and expectations change daily. One of the things that has been up in the air in our community is amateur tackle football.

We at Football Manitoba have been working to see a safe return of tackle football in 2021. We have put together plans that would allow for a staged return, mitigating risk as best we can throughout the process. These plans were submitted to Sport Manitoba and to provincial health authorities in July. We recently met with those parties, and we now have an update.

First, we must thank Sport Manitoba and the provincial government representatives who have been leading during this difficult time. Public health officials simply do not have the time to make an educated decision on football as they are focused on keeping our province as healthy as possible during a pandemic. Sport Manitoba recognize that they are not experts in tackle football. They understand that Football Manitoba is far better equipped to make decisions on modifications to the game to allow for a safe return. Football Manitoba has been given the authority to make decisions on this staged return to play at this point.